Chapter 12. Disposal Of Property Stolen Or Embezzled of California Penal Code >> Title 10. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 12.

When property, alleged to have been stolen or embezzled, comes into the custody of a peace officer, he shall hold it subject to the provisions of this chapter relating to the disposal thereof.

On the application of the owner and on satisfactory proof of his ownership of the property, after reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard has been given to the person from whom custody of the property was taken and any other person as required by the magistrate, the magistrate before whom the complaint is laid, or who examines the charge against the person accused of stealing or embezzling it, shall order it to be delivered, without prejudice to the state, to the owner, on his paying the necessary expenses incurred in its preservation, to be certified by the magistrate. The order entitles the owner to demand and receive the property.

If property stolen or embezzled comes into the custody of the magistrate, it shall be delivered, without prejudice to the state, to the owner upon his application to the court and on satisfactory proof of his title, after reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard has been given to the person from whom custody of the property was taken and any other person as required by the magistrate, and on his paying the necessary expenses incurred in its preservation, to be certified by the magistrate.

If the property stolen or embezzled has not been delivered to the owner, the court before which a trial is had for stealing or embezzling it, upon the application of the owner to the court and on proof of his title, after reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard has been given to the person from whom custody of the property was taken and any other person as required by the court, may order it to be restored to the owner without prejudice to the state.

(a) If the ownership of the property stolen or embezzled and the address of the owner, and the address of the owner of a security interest therein, can be reasonably ascertained, the peace officer who took custody of the property shall notify the owner, and a person having a security interest therein, by letter of the location of the property and the method by which the owner may obtain it. This notice shall be given upon the conviction of a person for an offense involving the theft, embezzlement, or possession of the property, or if a conviction was not obtained, upon the making of a decision by the district attorney not to file the case or upon the termination of the proceedings in the case. Except as provided in Section 217 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, if the property stolen or embezzled is not claimed by the owner before the expiration of three months after the giving of this notice, or, in any case in which such a notice is not given, before the expiration of six months from the conviction of a person for an offense involving the theft, embezzlement, or possession of the property, or if a conviction was not obtained, then from the time the property came into the possession of the peace officer or the case involving the person from whom it was obtained is disposed of, whichever is later, the magistrate or other officer having it in custody may, on the payment of the necessary expenses incurred in its preservation, deliver it to the county treasurer or other proper county officer, by whom it shall be sold and the proceeds paid into the county treasury. However, notwithstanding any other law, if the person from whom custody of the property was taken is a secondhand dealer or licensed pawnbroker and reasonable but unsuccessful efforts have been made to notify the owner of the property and the property is no longer needed for the criminal proceeding, the property shall be returned to the secondhand dealer or pawnbroker who had custody of the property and be treated as regularly acquired property. If the property is transferred to the county purchasing agent it may be sold in the manner provided by Article 7 (commencing with Section 25500) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 2 of Title 3 of the Government Code for the sale of surplus personal property. If the county officer determines that any of the property transferred to him or her for sale is needed for a public use, the property may be retained by the county and need not be sold. The magistrate or other officer having the property in custody may, however, provide for the sale of the property in the manner provided for the sale of unclaimed property which has been held for at least three months pursuant to Section 2080.4 of the Civil Code.
  (b) This section shall not govern the disposition of property placed on hold pursuant to Section 21647 of the Business and Professions Code, notwithstanding the current custodial status of the property, unless the licensed pawnbroker or secondhand dealer, after receipt of the written advisement required by subdivision (h) of Section 21647 of the Business and Professions Code, willfully refuses to consent to a statutory hold as provided by Section 21647 of the Business and Professions Code or a search warrant for the business of the licensed pawnbroker or secondhand dealer has resulted in the seizure of the property subject to this section.

When money or other property is taken from a defendant, arrested upon a charge of a public offense, the officer taking it must at the time give duplicate receipts therefor, specifying particularly the amount of money or the kind of property taken; one of which receipts he must deliver to the defendant and the other of which he must forthwith file with the Clerk of the Court to which the depositions and statement are to be sent. When such property is taken by a police officer of any incorporated city or town, he must deliver one of the receipts to the defendant, and one, with the property, at once to the Clerk or other person in charge of the police office in such city or town.

(a) The clerk or person having charge of the property section for any police department in any incorporated city or town, or for any sheriff's department in any county, shall enter in a suitable book a description of every article of property alleged to be stolen or embezzled, and brought into the office or taken from the person of a prisoner, and shall attach a number to each article, and make a corresponding entry thereof. He may engrave or imbed an identification number in property described in Section 537e for the purposes thereof.
  (b) The clerk or person in charge of the property section may, upon satisfactory proof of the ownership of property held pursuant to Section 1407, and upon presentation of proper personal identification, deliver it to the owner. Such delivery shall be without prejudice to the state or to the person from whom custody of the property was taken or to any other person who may have a claim against the property. Prior to such delivery such clerk or person in charge of the property section shall make and retain a complete photographic record of such property. The person to whom property is delivered shall sign, under penalty of perjury, a declaration of ownership, which shall be retained by the clerk or person in charge of the property section. This subdivision shall not apply to any property subject to forfeiture under any provision of law. This subdivision shall not apply unless the clerk or person in charge of the property section has served upon the person from whom custody of the property was taken a notice of a claim of ownership and a copy of the satisfactory proof of ownership tendered and has allowed such person reasonable opportunity to be heard as to why the property should not be delivered to the person claiming ownership. If the person upon whom a notice of claim and proof of ownership has been served does not respond asserting a claim to the property within 15 days from the date of receipt of the service, the property may be disposed of in a manner not inconsistent with the provisions of this section.
  (c) The magistrate before whom the complaint is laid, or who examines the charge against the person accused of stealing or embezzling the property, or the court before which a trial is had for stealing or embezzling it, shall upon application by the person from whom custody of the property was taken, review the determination of the clerk or person in charge of the property section, and may order the property taken into the custody of the court upon a finding that the person to whom the property was delivered is not entitled thereto. Such court shall make its determination in the same manner as a determination is made when the matter is before the court pursuant to Sections 1408 to 1410, inclusive.
  (d) The clerk or person in charge of the property section is not liable in damages for any official action performed hereunder in good faith.